Of Hats and Lollipops
by QwertyTheBard
Summary: Kariya forgets to pack something essential when he goes on vacation, so he pops into a local candy shop to get it.


The Urahara Shoten was a small convenience store, and it mostly served as a cover for selling black market spiritual merchandise. It _did_ have a small handful of human customers, all regulars, and Kisuke knew all their names, faces, and buying habits by heart. So when a new face wandered in, Kisuke didn't worry to much about it, but was still a little on guard. He looked up from his newspaper when the bell rigged to the door rang, studied the stranger for a bit, and looked back down. He was a twenty-something with fluffy orange hair in a weird, broccoli-like up-do, a sleeveless skeleton hoodie, and plain brown slacks. He had what looked like a lollipop stick jutting from his mouth, and was browsing the store's shelves with an odd kind of interest.

"Anything I can help you find?" Kisuke asked. The kid seemed like he was looking for something particular.

"Just looking for some stuff I forgot to pack. I'm on vacation." He turned to look at Kisuke through orange-tinted glasses. "You have any lollipops?"

Just as Kisuke was about to give an enthusiastic "Of course, they're right there!" the kid's cell rang. He looked at the screen, smiled, and flipped the phone open.

"Hey, Uzuki."

"_Where the heck are you, Kariya?"_

"Some small town in western Tokyo. Karakura, I think."

Kisuke heard a screech from the other end. Kariya winced and held the phone a little further from his face until it stopped.

"Don't yell, it hurts. Besides, it's not like we have work for another two months."

"_That doesn't mean you get to go to the other end of the prefecture!"_

"Why not? I figure Megs is giving us the downtime for a reason. And there aren't any rules that say we _have_ to stay in Shibuya when we're off duty."

The voice on the other end, Uzuki, sighed. _"Kariya, you're impossible."_

He smiled. "What, cause I'm not a workaholic like you?"

Silence on the other end.

"Oh, speaking of work, you owe me three hand a half bowls of ramen for last week."

"…_a half?"_

"Yup. We tied once, remember?"

"_How am I supposed to buy _half_ a bowl?"_

"That's for you to figure out while I'm gone. Have fun." He hung up while she was protesting.

"Not that it's any of my business," Kisuke chuckled, "But who was that?"

"My roommate. I didn't exactly tell her I was leaving this week, so she's ticked," the redhead responded. He acted like it was completely normal.

"She?"

Kariya rolled his eyes. "It's nothing romantic, aight? She's only seventeen."

That made Kisuke laugh again. "Fine, fine. The lollipops are over there," He pointed with his fan.

"Ah! Thanks," They were just a little ways away from where he had been looking. He looked at them a little, grabbed two Economy-sized bags, and headed for the counter. Kisuke raised his eyebrows at that, not that the kid could see them.

"Heh. Sorry, I'm an addict." The surprise must have leached past Kisuke's hat, then.

"No need," the merchant muttered, "More for both of us." He paused to ring up the candy, hesitant, stalling. He didn't want to chase a potential customer away if he was wrong, but if the kid was just passing through…

"You're dead, aren't you?"

The redhead tensed for a split second, then looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "How'd you figure that one out?"

"Oh, just the way you were talking about…work, earlier. I can't think of many jobs that only go for a week every few months."

Kariya shook his head and sighed, forking over the cash for his precious sugar. "Look, pops, I'm from Shibuya. Not sure what the rules are over here, but I can't touch anything supernatural while I'm out of town, aight?" He smiled, grabbed his lollipops, and started towards the door. "'Sides, I'm on vacation!"

Kisuke watched as the kid packed the candy into a box strapped to the back of his Vespa, got his helmet out of said box, and climbed on top of said Vespa. Kariya gave him a little two fingered wave before he drove off, a kind of salute to the shopkeeper. After all, he was the only man outside of Shibuya that had managed to figure him out.


End file.
